It will scar, which is good. A scar is not the mark of a mistake made, Natasha. It’s another lesson— that you are stronger than whatever it is that gave it to you. You will endure many such lessons in your life, little spider. Not all of them will be from enemies.
Secret Origins
Natasha was born in 1928 in what was then called Stalingrad, to an aristocratic family with vague but definite connections to the Romanov dynasty. Her family was soon killed for their sympathies with the quickly fading White movement; Natasha herself escaped in the care of a Red Army officer, Ivan. Soon, Ivan placed her in the care of Taras Romanov, who ran a merciless school for child killers, where Natasha was trained for several years. With the help of Ivan, she was able to escape. They enjoyed a scattered, adventurous existence with his soldier's company, carrying out orders from his superiors, and hiding from them. In 1950s Berlin, Ivan was mortally wounded, but Russian intelligence showed up with a comic book miracle serum cure. The only catch— Natasha would have to become their agent. She accepted.
Natasha's recollection of the Red Room is murky and fragmented. The training was arduous and cruel. Still, she fell in love with a hero-pilot, Alexi Shostakov, and they were wed. Soon, though, her faceless superiors staged his death, to burn loyalty to their cause deeper into her heart. Natasha spun her grief into dedication and became their most accomplished agent. It was grim work she did not enjoy, but felt she could not escape.
Months, years, and decades passed. Reed Richards, party of four, your bombardment of cosmic rays is ready— the thing we call the Marvel Universe came into full bloom. Natasha was sent on to sabotage the capitalist miracle hero Iron Man, and soon recruited the escaped carnie Hawkeye to her dubious cause. But that was to be her last mission. The Soviet Union had collapsed, and it became harder and harder for Natasha to bury her misgivings in grief and duty. When her handlers commanded her to turn against Hawkeye, whom she'd fallen in love with, she refused, and defected first to the Avengers, and then to SHIELD. Her dead husband Alexi reappeared, not so dead after all, calling her a traitor to the cause before (seemingly— he came back again) sacrificing himself a second time. But instead of twisting her further into the web, this time his death brought her out of it. She knew how important her own choices were, her own feelings, her own loves. She would choose her own missions.
“ For all that she’s a spy and a modern day heroine, Natasha grew up in the middle of a war that makes our current struggles look like a walk in the park. That was a brutal time, especially in Russia and given the history of how she was practically raised by soldiers, she must have seen some really horrific things growing up. I bet she learned a lot, too. Strategy, survival - all those mental games you need to play to keep one foot ahead of death - as well as honor and sacrifice. All at a young age. I don’t think that’s made her cynical, though. A pragmatist, certainly - capable of dealing with and accepting death, without getting bogged down emotionally. ” — Marjorie Liu
“ From the very beginning, she had no say in her own destiny, which is a very noir, very dark kind of outlook on life. And yet, she fought back from that and has now taken her own life in her own hands again. I guess I respond to those kinds of characters. Characters that seem screwed, who are also talented but are put in a difficult position and who fight their way out of it. That’s what appeals to me about her. Despite the convoluted, difficult life, she’s come out on top. And now her mission, the way I see it, is that she wants to free other people from being controlled and used. That’s her thing, I believe, and why she is equally super hero as she is a spy. ” — Duane Swierczynski
⪢ A NOTE. Natasha's origin has several variations that creators tend to borrow and mash together as they see fit. The above is my attempt to synthesize as much as possible into one mostly coherent story. For more information about how Natasha's history has developed over the years from a more Doylist perspective, see this series of write-ups.
Since Then
Natasha knew she could not work for the KGB anymore, but had a difficult time deciding what she wanted to do instead. She quit the life of action entirely for a short while, but found it boring; she went back to SHIELD soon after. Her relationship with Hawkeye suffered as Clint no longer accompanied him on missions. Eventually, Natasha tried a clean break, quitting SHIELD and leaving Hawkeye to pursue a career as a solo vigilante. She let the die grow out of her hair and designed herself a new costume.
Natasha's initial career as a super-hero was full of twists. She became a champion for many underpriveleged New York city groups, and gained an unsavory reputation for political activism. Eventually, she was framed for murder, and her past as a Soviet agent was publicized and held against her. But she fell in love with her defense attorney, Matt Murdock, who was also the costumed hero Daredevil. Matt defeated the murder charge and they moved to San Francisco together. When that relationship fell apart, Natasha moved to Los Angeles, where she became the leader of a new superhero group, the Champions.
The Champions were shortlived, and Natasha rejoined the Avengers after they agreed to go their separate ways. More secure in her own identity after a lengthy solo career, Natasha began accepting SHIELD jobs again as a freelancer, while continuing to do superhero work solo and sometimes with the Avengers. After a long stint as a reservist Natasha became a full-time member of the team and was soon leading the squad. But her tenure ended in disaster when most of the team died in a fit of stupid 90s events. Burdened with an intense case of survivors guilt, Natasha began to question her usefulness as a hero, refusing to rejoin the Avengers and concentration on her work with SHIELD and old street-level contacts.
Eventually, the situation changed. Under the SHRA, SHIELD and the Avengers worked closer than ever before, and so Natasha was recruited as a member of Tony Stark's new public Avengers team. Though the SHRA was eventually repealed, Natasha continued to serve as a public Avenger and also on numerous covert semi-SHIELD aligned Avengers squadrons.
Natasha also began operating as a mercenary spy-for-hire, taking on select missions to raise money for the families of people she had wronged in the past. This work was emotionally and morally grueling, and drove her to sever her relationship with SHIELD and its director, Maria Hill, while maintaining her connections with the Avengers.
